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S3TC Now Golden For Linux & Open-Source?

Phoronix: S3TC Now Golden For Linux & Open-Source?

Many Phoronix readers have written in asking about the news this week concerning HTC joining the Open Invention Network. In particular, many Phoronix readers are interested in HTC joining OIN due to their acquisition of S3 Graphics earlier in the year and the accumulated graphics IP portfolio...

I doubt that the Mesa developers will accept S3TC because of an agreement not to sue people for using this on Linux. Linux is only one of the many kernels that they support.

For the Mesa devs the Linux kernel is by far the most important one, if not the only one, since, as you might recall, they even got rid of DRI1 stuff that creates problems for non-Linux OSes like BSD & Solaris.

For the Mesa devs the Linux kernel is by far the most important one, if not the only one, since, as you might recall, they even got rid of DRI1 stuff that creates problems for non-Linux OSes like BSD & Solaris.

Actually, not exactly. While lots of people work on Mesa at Red Hat, Intel, AMD, and Google for Linux, the VMware guys apparently maintain a number of Gallium3D drivers for Windows.

Therefore, HTC grants license to other current and future (OIN) licensees: All licensee patents (all HTCs patents) and applications for the Linux System

Therefore, any of the 280 companies who are members of the OIN have just been granted a license from HTC for all patents held by HTC which are applicable to Linux.

This cross-licensing is why OIN is described as a "network". The way that the "may not sue other OIN compnies" bit works is that all of the OIN companies license each other. They all have licenses for each others patents.